GOLF:FIRST OFF, the medical report: Rory McIlroy's wrist-cum-forearm injury is a short-term one that will fully heal in a timescale of anything between two to six weeks. And, additionally, it won't keep him out of the mix for the business dealings over the weekend in the USPGA Championship here at Atlanta Athletic club where, despite assessing his own fitness level at "70 to 75 per cent," the 22-year-old Ulsterman believes all hope is not yet lost.

Secondly, the golf report. Unfortunately for McIlroy, yesterday was one of those days on the greens where, despite the sweltering temperatures, his putter stayed stubbornly cold. And, additionally, there was one horror hole – the par three 17th, his eighth of the day, playing to 211 yards in the second round – which claimed a heavy price for a six-iron tee-shot that got caught up in the wind and resulted in the triple-bogey six en route to McIlroy signing for a second round 73, which left him on three-over-par 143 at the midpoint.

McIlroy sustained the injury when hitting an exposed tree root on the third hole of his first round and it was subsequently diagnosed as a strained tendon in his forearm.

Admitting that he would have withdrawn if it was a regular tournament, McIlroy – winner of the US Open at Congressional in record-breaking style in June – has a different attitude to Majors and, so, with the help of a medical aid called kinesio tape with a plastic splint, he has endeavoured to produce his magic without being in the whole of his health.

Was it a mistake to attempt to play that shot on the third on Thursday? “Looking back on it, and how close the root was to the ball, it probably wasn’t the right decision,” conceded McIlroy. “But I felt at the time that I could make impact, let go of the club, and get it up somewhere around the green. In Major championships, every shot counts, and that’s all I was really thinking about.”

McIlroy also said he had talked the situation through with his caddie, JP Fitzgerald.

“We definitely talked through it. We talked about chipping it out and, in hindsight, it was probably the better option. But he said to me, ‘if you’re comfortable doing it, go ahead and if that’s the shot you see, just go ahead and do it’. In the back of our minds, it was a case of, you know, if it comes off, it comes off,” he said.

After getting an MRI scan in hospital on Thursday night to determine the full extent of the injury, McIlroy was able to play yesterday with the help of strapping to stabilise his wrist. “As long as it doesn’t feel worse than it already is, it should be fine. I’ll definitely take time off after this and make sure it’s ready before coming back.”

For now, there is a job to do. And, although disappointed with his pace putting which saw a number of birdie opportunities slip by the hole in the second round, McIlroy – who stayed away from the driving range and limited himself to putting afterwards – was aiming for an improved showing heading into the weekend.

Indeed, he would have been in a better place to attack if he hadn’t become a victim at the 17th. “I feel as if I can still make birdies out there. If I don’t think I could contend, I probably wouldn’t be playing, you know. So I feel as if there’s a decent one out there tomorrow, a 66 or a 65, get myself back into red numbers and maybe shoot something similar on Sunday and see where that leaves me,” said McIlroy.